School Facility Manufacturers' Association

About portable classrooms

State Allocation Board Definition of a Portable Classroom

The definition of a portable classroom is established in law by Education Code Section 17742.5(b) and was adopted as policy by the SAB on July 27, 1998, and amended August 29, 1990, which states:

For purposes of the Lease-Purchase Program, "portable classroom" is a classroom building of modular design and construction that meets all of the following criteria:

1. Is designed and constructed to be relocatable and transportable over public streets.
• The legal height of each section when loaded on a trailer for conveyance shall not exceed 16 feet.
• The maximum width of each section shall not exceed 14 feet.
2. Is designed and constructed for relocation without the separation of the roof or floor from the building.
3. When measured at the most exterior walls, has a floor area not in excess of 2,000 square feet.

This definition applies to relocatable classrooms built to satisfy the three square foot bonus and the 30% relocatable requirements. It also applies to portable exclusions used in determining the area of adequate school construction and to portable classrooms that are eligible for modernization, reconstruction or replacement.